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Lone Feather
RiverClan Leader: Sandstar - Light brown tabby she-cat with green eyes Deputy: Fernwish - Gray tabby she-cat with green eyes Medicine Cat: Darkfang - Dark brown tabby tom with dark amber eyes and scarred ears Warriors: Goosewing: Gray tom with white paws and amber eyes Apprentice, Pinepaw Eveningflower: Black and white she-cat with amber eyes Silverwind: White she-cat with pale gray tabby patches Apprentioce, Brookpaw Volewhisker: Brown tom with yellow eyes and a white muzzle Thrushfeather: Spotted brown tabby tom with green eyes Apprentice, Skypaw Snowleaf: White she-cat with tabby patches, blue eyes Apprentice, Frozenpaw Creekspots: Mottled gray tom with green eyes Dustfeather: Pale brown tabby she-cat with yellow eyes Apprentices: Skypaw: Gray she-cat with white paws and blue eyes Brookpaw: Brown tabby tom with green eyes Pinepaw: Tiny gray tabby she-cat with amber eyes Frozenpaw: Gray and white tom with blue eyes Queens: Ambercloud: Long-furred, snowy white she-cat with dark amber eyes Sagenose: Ginger tabby she-cat with light amber eyes, mother to Darkkit and Foxkit Mossleaf: White she-cat with dark green eyes, mother to Tanglekit, Spottedkit, and Ripplekit Kits: Darkkit: Dark black she-cat with dark blue eyes Foxkit: Orange tabby tom with bright amber eyes Tanglekit: Dark brown tabby tom Spottedkit: Dark tortoiseshell she-cat Ripplekit: Sandy brown tabby she-cat Featherkit: Very pale gray she-cat with pretty sky blue eyes Elders: Stormfeather: Dark gray tom with graying muzzle Snowbelly: Black she-cat with white paws and underbelly Prolouge A tom paces outside the nursery, seems oblivious to the storm raging around him. He doesn't seem to notice the rain pounding on his shoulders, the wind shaking the trees above, the mud clogging his white paws. His gray fur is dark with rain, the water sliding off the sleek surface is steady rivulets. He sees a shadow flitting from the warriors' den, and stops as his sister blocks his path. "Goosewing," She murmurs. "She'll be fine. Have you no faith in Fernbreeze? She's strong; she'll make it." Goosewing only stares at the black and white cat, with dull, dead amber eyes. "Eveningflower," he croaks. "She's really sick. Even Darkfang doubts that she'll deliver these kits safely. I still have faith in her; I have to, or she'd leave me so easily." Eveningflower bows her head, murmurs a quick goodbye, and bussels off to calm a white she-cat's kits, who mewl in fear of the heaving storm. Goosewing continues to pace, his fur beginning to hang limp as it becomes water-logged. "Goosewing." The tom looks up as his name is called. A dark brown tom stands in the enterance to the nursery, looking exhausted and worn. "How is she?" Goosewing demands, water streaming from his whiskers. The dark furred medicine cat only stares with dead eyes. Goosewing stiffens. "No..." He shoves into the nursery. It's dry inside, but you can still hear the storm raging outside, battering at the walls relentlessly. A pale shape lays limp in a nest, two sodden shapes huddled beside it. He drops to a crouch, sniffs the pale she-cat's fur desperatley. "No!" He yowls when he finds no heartbeat. "Fernbreeze! No!" He presses his nose to the cat's pale gray fur. "No, no, no..." He turns to his kits, feeling his heart snap in two. Both shapes were still and silent. He's lost his children as well. As he's mourning the death of his mate, he hears a faint, pitiful mewling. He lifts his head from the soft, cold gray fur. One of the two kits, one with fur the same feathery gray as her mother's, is squirming. "Darkfang!" He bellows, pulling the shaking kit against him. His daughter is still alive! The dark brown tabby bursts in, fusses over the kit. "She'll live," The medicine cat declares. "I'll have Mossleaf suckle her, since..." he trails off. Goosewing swallows hard. Even if his daughter lived, his mate is still dead. Darkfang brings the pale gray kit to Mossleaf, who willingly suckles her and keeps her warm. Goosewing makes sure his kit is comfortable, and goes outside to sit vigil with his fallen mate and daughter. As he settles down beside Fernbreeze's cold, hard body, he looks to Silverpelt. It has stopped raining. "Thank you for letting her stay with me, StarClan," Goosewing whispers before laying his head on Fernbreeze's shoulder, clutching his dead daughter's body to his side. Chapter One Featherkit bounced out of the nursery, tail high and dove-gray fur spiked. "Snowbelly!" She squealed, tossing herself at the mound of black fur curled up beside the fresh-kill pile. With a grunt, Snowbelly's head snapped up, revealing bent, unkept whiskers and cloudy yellow eyes. "What?" The elder grunted, drawing herself up into a sitting position. "Has the dawn patrol left yet?" Featherkit danced from one paw to the other, her endless kit-energy surging through her. "Yes," Snowbelly sighs. "You've missed them again, Featherkit." The motherless kit's tail drooped, but she straightened again after a moment. "I wonder if they'll bring back any fish?" Featherkit murmured. Her belly moaned. She hadn't eaten since before sundown yesterday. "Most likely," Snowbelly rumbled. "Unless they run into trouble and have to get back quickly." Featherkit prayed to StarClan the patrol wouldn't run into any trouble; not just because they wouldn't bring back prey, but because her father, Goosewing, was leading it. He'd feel the need to take on any dogs, Twolegs, or enemy Clan patrols they might bump into to save the other members of the patrol, give them a headstart to run back to camp. And Featherkit needed him to come home unharmed. "Good." Featherkit sat, wincing; it was leaf-fall, and the ground was very cold. She fluffed out her downy kit-fur, trying to fend off the chilly morning breeze. "I hope they bring carp." The wind picked up very suddenly, making the bare branches clatter together, which was an eery sound. Featherkit squeaked as the wind tugged at her fur, threatening to send her tumbling away. She darted forward and shelted between Snowbelly's paws. "A storm is coming," the old black cat murmured. "You'd better get back to the nursery. I'll bring you a carp if the patrol brings any back." Featherkit nodded, waited til the wind died down, and made a mad dash for the nursery enterance. Mossleaf was sitting up in her nest, eyes wide. "There you are! Come over here, it's going to rain soon." Featherkit scampered forward and burrowed into Mossleaf's soft white fur. She soon fell back asleep, Mossleaf's gently purr rumbling in her ears. Chapter Two Featherkit woke to a paw prodding her in the side. "Wake up, Featherkit!" A voice yowled. "Dawn patrol's back, and they've got the biggest carp I've ever seen!" Featherkit rolled to her paws, shaking scraps of moss out of her downy gray fur. Tanglekit was watching her with wide yellow eyes. Featherkit shot past Spottedkit, who was dabing a leaf with her forepaw, and nearly slammed into Creekspots. The gray tom dropped the reeds he was carrying with surprise, huffing when annoyance when he saw the gray kit staring at him with apologetic blue eyes. "Shoo, you. Shouldn't you be with Mossleaf?" He scooped up his reeds and disappeared into the elders den. Featherkit sniffed and skipped to the fresh-kill pile. Goosewing was licking one white paw, a still-flopping carp held under the other. "Daddy!" Featherkit squealed, tossing herself onto his back. "That's a huge carp!" Goosewing purred and nudged it towards her. "I kept it alive so it would be as fresh as possible. After I caught it, I left it in a shallow pool near the bank. It couldn't get out, and I left it there until we came back. Would you like to kill it?" Featherkit pounced on the fish without replying, digging her claws into the soft, salty flesh. It gave a sharp jerk under her, sending her tumbling sideways. She growled with anger and leaped at the fish, tearing at it with her teeth and claws until it lay still. Featherkit sat up, fish blood dripping from her chin, and gave a triumphant mew at Goosewing. "Not bad for your first kill," Goosewing purred. "But you made a mess of that carp. Good thing it was for you, eh?" He padded off to where his sister, Eveningflower, was working on a pike. Purring, Featherkit tore off a chunk of carp maet, relishing in the saltiness. She had the best father in the Clan. Chapter Three Featherkit shivered and hunkered down farther into the moss. It had been a half-moon since Tanglepaw, Spottedpaw, and Ripplepaw had become apprentices, leaving Featherkit alone in the nursery, Mosslead had been more than willing to stay a queen for an exra moon so Featherkit wouldn't be lonely, but the gray kit had turned her down. She thought having a whole den to herself would be cool. She was wrong. It was cold and big in the nursery at night, with creepy shadows and strange noises. But Featherkit refused to tell Mossleaf just how frightening it was in the nursery at night, and braved through night after night by herself. Featherkit hunched over in her nest, feeling as though her paws would fall off with cold. How could the den go from being so scary at night to being warm and inviting by day? * * * "Featherkit? Wake up, I've brought someone to meet you." The little she-kit groaned and sat up, shaking her paws, trying to warm them up. Darkfang was grinning down at her. "Yes?" She asked groggily, blinking her eyes at him. The dark striped tom stepped aside, revealing a green-eyed shadow. "This is Shadowkit. We found him outside the terrtory. Sandstar took him in." Featherkit bristled. A rouge kit Sharing her den? She took a step back, trying to look menacing as she fluffed out her fur and bared her teeth. "I don't want to share a den with that thing." Darkfang stared at her in horror. "Featherki! Be nice! And you haven't a choice. You'll both be in here for the next moon, and then become apprentices together. Now make nice." Darkfang whisked out, leaving Featherkit and Shadowkit alone. "Er, so, your name is Featherkit?" The black tom asked, shuffling his paws nervously. Featherkit just dropped a nod, keeping her icy stare steady and uninviting. "That's a nice name." Another nod. With a sigh, Shadowkit turn ed. "I'm gonna go out there. The cats were friendlier." He trotted out, his little black tail waving behind him. Featherkit padded back to her nest and turned around in it twice, wrapping her tail over her nose. She wouldn't ever talk to that stupid rouge, not if she didn't have to. Chapter Four "Featherpaw! Shadowpaw! Featherpaw! Shadowpaw!" Featherpaw shuffled her paws with excitement. Finally, she'd be moving out of that cramped nursery and into the apprentices den! She glanced at Shadowpaw, who's eyes were brimmed with hapiness, but nothing more. A light tail brushed against Featherpaw's flank, and she turned to look into the yellow eyes of her new mentor. "Hi, Dustfeather!" Featherpaw crowed, bouncing on her paws. "What are we going to do first?" Dustfeather purred and flicked her tail over Featherpaw's soft gray ear. "I'll show you the territory first. Shadowpaw and Eveningflower can come with us." Featherpaw's excitement deflated. That mangy Shadowpaw would be coming too? Great. The little gray apprentice stretched on her toes to nuzzle her aunts head as Eveningflower padded up to new apprentice. The black and white cat mewed a greeting, and the four cats left camp. Shadowpaw dropped back to pad beside Featherpaw once they'd left the camp behind. "Can I ask why you hate me so much?" He asked after a while, bringing Featherpaw up short. "I don't hate you...as much, as I did before," Featherpaw muttered, not wanting to discuss it. Shadowpaw waited, green eyes curious. "I didn't trust you. I thought you were a spy, that you were going to murder me in my sleep or something." Shadowpaw snorted. "That's ridiculous." "I know." Shadowpaw pursed his lips for a moment. "Do you want to hear about my life before I came here?" Featherpaw narrowed her eyes. "No offense, but why would I?" Shadowpaw purred. "Because you might find some things interesting." Featherpaw sighed and shrugged. "Sure, fire away." "Okay, well...My mother looked exactly like me. Longish black fur, bright green eyes. We weren't kittypets, but we hung around the Twolegplace a lot. And I used to see the strangest types of cats." His eyes got a faraway look, but his voice didn't falter. "There was one named Snowball. He had the longest, mattiest fur ever, and his face looked like he'd ran into a wall on too many times." Featherpaw purred in amusement. "Two twins named Sophie and Sami were cream-colored, and had brown faces, ears, legs, and tails, and the brightest blue eyes." Featherpaw tried to imagine it at chortled at the pictures she conjured. "And then there was Rex, the strangest cat you've ever seen. He had no hair!" Featherpaw stopped walking. "A cat with no fur? You're joking, right?" Shadowpaw shook his head, eyes wide. "You aren't missing out, trust me. He was the ugliest cat I've ever seen." He shook his head and Featherpaw purred. Maybe this Shadowpaw wasn't so bad after all. Chapter Five Featherpaw curled up in the safety of the apprentices den, Shadowpaw on his back in the nest next to her. Tanglepaw, Ripplepaw and Spottedpaw were chattering on like blackbirds about training they'd done earlier in the day, and Tanglepaw was boasting about the rabbit he'd brought down that had crossed from the WindClan border. Featherpaw dragged her tounge lazily over her foreleg, watching her denmates talk and play and sleep. Shadowpaw rolled onto his side to look at her and she smiled back. Whatever grudge she'd held against him when he first came to RiverClan was gone now. The two apprentices were the best of friends, nearly inseperable. More than once she'd had dreams about two cats, one pale gray and one black, lying outside the nursery while kits squealed and tumbled around them. "Want to go ask if we can do battle training?" Shadowpaw offered, pulling himself into a sitting position. Featherpaw nodded and rose to her paws, shaking out her freshly groomed pelt and following her black-furred friend out of the den. Shadowpaw dashed up to Dustfeather and Eveningflower, who were talking to eachother in low voices. "Can we do battle training?" Shadowpaw yipped, dashing around Eveningflower's legs. The black and white she-cat glanced at Dustfeather, who shrugged. "I don't have anything to do," the pale tabby mewed, yellow eyes glowing in the soft light. "We can battle train if they want." Featherpaw and Shadowpaw raced ahead of their mentors, chittering hapilly and tossing leaves in eachothers faces. "Whoa!" Shadowpaw stopped dead in his tracks, making Featherpaw bump into him from behind. "Shadowpaw, you lump!" She growled, giving him a shove. He pointed frantically ahead with his tail, speechless. Featherpaw glanced over his shoulder and gave a quiet gasp. "The rivers frozen," Eveningflower commented, coming up from behind. "Its hard to fish from the river when its frozen. We have to break the ice, There's lots of scraped pads in the winter." Featherpaw padded out towards the ice, ignoring the protestant mew from Shadowpaw, and dabbed at the shiny, solid surface of the river. It was cold, hard and sent her pad tingling with pain. With a startled mew she pulled back with surprise. "Whats it like?" Shadowpaw murmured, coming up beside her. Without bothering to get an answer, he stepped out onte the surface. Featherpaw heard a strange creaking sound and narrowed her eyes. "What is that, Dustfeather?" She asked her mentor, glancing back at the brown she-cat. But Dustfeather's eyes were round with shock. "Shadowpaw! Get back!" The black tom staggered back a step in surprise just as the ice gave way. Big chunks of reflective silver ice fell into the river and were washed away quickly. Shadowpaw, green eyes huge with terror, stumbled back to Featherpaw's side. "Let's get out of here," Eveningflower mewed hoarsely, turning and heading towards the training clearing. Featherpaw and Shadowpaw followed without protest. Chapter Six "Higher!" Shadowpaw demanded. "You won't be able to leap onto a kit's back with that height, let alone a warrior's!" Featherpaw grunted, pressing herself even lower to the cold, hard ground and forcing her muscles to coil before springing again. She cleared Shadowpaw's head, landing square on his shoulders, and scored her claws harmlessly through his fur before rolling off onto the ground again before he could retaliate. It had been a moon since Shadowpaw had nearly fallen into the ice, and leaf-fall was in full-swing. It had snowed, covering the earth with soft, wet whiteness, that made it harder to hunt - you couldn't pick up hardly any scents when your prey was soaked to the bone with snowmelt. The warriors managed to keep the ice from covering the river again, so fish weren't too hard to catch, so long as you didn't mind freezing your paws off. "Good," Shadowpaw panted, licking the rumpled fur on his shoulder. "Now, we'll try that again, but this time I want you to-" A yowl tore through the air, cutting off his words. I lifted my head in alarm just as Pinepaw barreled into camp, howling and panting. A long slash reddened the fur on her flank. "Attack!" She howled. "WindClan are attacking! On the other side of the stream! We're outnumbered!" Sandstar lifted her head in alarm from where she had been eating a trout with her mate Volewhisker. The tabby leader got to her paws and padded to the center of camp; she didn't need to yowl a summons, because every cat had emerged from their dens at Pinepaw's yowl. "Dustfeather, Silverwind, Creekspots, Eveningflower," Sandstar called, and the four warriors stepped forward, claws already unsheathed and eyes gleaming. "You and your apprentices will be the battle patrol." Featherpaw's heart leaped. Yes! She exchanged a glance with Shadowpaw, who looked so battle-ready, his claws out and his eyes dark and dangerous. Featherpaw, Shadowpaw and Brookpaw, Silverwind's apprentice, bunched together behind the warriors. Dustfeather whispered last-minute battle advice as the patrol streaked over the grass, heading for the river, led by Pinepaw. "Don't let anyone pin you down," Dustfeather instructed. "You won't be able to get free, and it would leave your belly and throat exposed. You're small - use that to your advantage. Duck underneath your opponet whenever you can. Try to get on their back, but don't stay on so long that they have the chance to crush you under them." Featherpaw nodded, storing all the information away. She was ready for this. Her first battle! The seven cats splashed through the river, not bothering to go out of their way to cross at the stepping stones. Yowls and screeches of pain sounded, and Pinepaw veered sharply around a tree, displaying the attack. A hefty patrol of WindClan warriors battered mercilessly at the RiverClan cats; the hunting patrol Goosewing had led was mostly apprentices, and it showed. Frozenpaw's shoulder was a bloody mess as she stumbled past, darting away from a burly tabby warrior. Darkpaw turned to screech fearsomely at a WindClan she-cat but only got battered aside so strongly that the black she-cat lay dazed on the ground for a while. Ripplepaw whirled and raked his claws down a snowy white tom's flank, but the WindClan cat caught him under the chin with a strong blow that sent him reeling. Featherpaw's heart beat loudly in her ears, nearly deafening her. Her Clanmates were getting beaten so badly! She glanced at Shadowpaw; his green eyes were shaded with worry. But she couldn't think about that. The rest of the patrol had already started fighting. Featherpaw leaped in with claws extended, ready to tear into any cat who dared fight her. Chapter Seven Nothing would have prepared Featherpaw for the chaos that was battle. Blood sprayed, cats screeched, torn fur flew. Featherpaw sank her claws immediately into the first cat she came across that smelled of WindClan - a big black tom. He screeched and whirled around, yanking his tail from her teeth. With a snarl, he lunged at her, claws raking her shoulders, but she ducked and rolled neatly away from him. Blood splashed from between her shoulders but she couldn't feel the sting of the wounds. The tom lunged at her again, but she rolled again, fetching up at the leg's of another cat. The cat whirled and snarled; Featherpaw staggered to her paws, ready to slash out, but misdirected her blow seconds before her claws smacked into Skypaw. "Sorry!" She yelped, while the older gray apprentice scowled and ducked away into the throng of fighting cats again. A cat slammed into Featherpaw from the side, knocking her off her feet and pinning her beneath a greater weight. She snarled, twisting, to sink her teeth into cat flesh. A screech, claws slashing across her muzzle. She jerked back to see her blood spraying across the slender tabby legs of her attacker. Featherpaw drew up her hind legs and kicked them into the belly of the WindClan cat, sending them flying with a yowl. Featherpaw stumbled to her paws, feeling exhausted already. Blood dripped from her muzzle, the scratches on her shoulder stung, and her legs felt heavy and useless. "Featherpaw! Look out!" The gray she-cat whirled just as a heavy white shape slammed into her, claws raking her flanks. Featherpaw yowled, striking out blindly. A familiar voice cursed and Featherpaw jerked back in surprise; Shadowpaw had jumped in to help and she'd accidentally cuffed his ear. The WindClan warrior cursed as Shadowpaw's claw clipped his muzzle, blood spraying his white fur with scarlet jewels of red. Featherpaw, a sense of warmth suddenly spreading through her limbs and renewing her energy, struck out with better aimed blows, knocking the tom off his paws. The WindClan cat hissed as Shadowpaw and Featherpaw leaped on him and battered him mercilessly. One of the apprentices managed to slash his belly with their hind paws, and with a howl he shook the two RiverClan cats off and disappeared. "Nice moves!" Shadowpaw purred, blinking blood out of his eyes from a cut on his forehead. "You too!" Featherpaw looked down at her chest and grimaced. She had a new set of latice-like claw marks over under her throat, staining the white-gray fur red. The apprentice looked up just in time to see Shadowpaw's green eyes stretched wide with shock. "Featherpaw-" He yowled. She whirled around just in time to see the huge gray tom lunging at her with claws outstretched. He'd been aiming for her ears, but as she turned, she rose herself up onto her paws, higher - so that the warrior's claws were suddenly level with her eyes, not her ears. The tom hissed and tried to twist out of the way, but it was too late. With a pain so sharp it nearly immobilized her, the WindClan cat's claws sank just under Featherpaw's eyes. She could hear Shadowpaw's horrified howls, and then nothing as the cold, suffucating nothingness swallowed her whole. Chapter Eight Pain. Red haze, black shadows. Featherpaw felt detached from her body, floating in nothingness. She saw Shadowpaw, in her mind, those horrified green eyes of his just before pain had blinded and paralyzed her. She saw her father, laughing as he dragged a fish around by it's tail for her to pounce on. She saw her mother, gray fur floating around her like she was underwater. Her sister, with her fur as dark as smoke, blue eyes glowing unnaturally. "Wake up, Featherpaw," Fernbreeze whispered, her voice sweet and melodic. "You need to wake up." "I can't!" Featherpaw wailed desperately, wanting to run forward and press her nose to her mother's fur, but her paws were rooted to the spot. "I can't, Mother. I can't. Am I going to die?" Fernbreeze gazed sympathetically at her only living daughter. "No, my love. You will live, but only if you wake up. Wake up, Featherpaw, wake up..." With a wail, Featherpaw forced herself out of the dream, opening her eyes. She knew her eyes were open - she could feel herself blinking, feel the air against her eyes. But she saw nothing but darkness. "Hey!" Featherpaw screeched, struggling into a siting position. "W-what happened?!" "Featherpaw!" She recognized that voice - Darkfang. "Shh, it's okay. You're back in the RiverClan camp. You're in my den." Featherpaw swung her head back and forth, blinking rapidly, waiting for her vision to fade back into existance - but no luck. "Why can't I see?" She wailed, digging her claws into the moss of her nest. "Darkfang, I can't see!" "I know," He whispered quietly. "Featherpaw, that WindClan warrior clawed your eyes. I don't know if your sight will ever come back." Featherpaw flinched. Blind cats couldn't be warriors! "But it has to!" Featherpaw insisted, lashing her tail. "Darkfang, I can't be a warrior if I'm blind! Shadowpaw and I were going to get our warrior names together!" Darkfang said nothing, and Featherpaw could sense sympathy in the air. "Please," She whispered. "There's got to be something you can do." Darkfang sighed. "I don't think there is, Featherpaw. There's an herb - celandine - it soothes damaged eyes, but it won't bring your sight back. Featherpaw, I'm so sorry." She slumped back down in the moss. No. This couldn't be happening...she had to get her sight back, she had to become a warrior... "You could be my apprentice," Darkfang said quietly, and she heard him shuffle his paws. "No!" Featherpaw snapped, feeling her anger and frustration well over. "I don't want to be surrounded by herbs and sickness! I want to be out fighting for my Clan with teeth and claws, because that's what I'm good at! Not picking herbs and chewing poultices!" Darkfang sighed. "If that's what you think." Featherpaw buried her face in her paws. This is all my fault. If I wouldn't have stretched up like that the warrior would've just gotten my ears. Her heart sank. Did I curse myself to a life of darkness? Chapter Nine Coming soon! Category:Fan Fictions